Waitiki

Waitiki

Waitiki in Orlando Florida and in the general area of Disney World should the adults need a break from Mickey Mouse. I know I did. Of course Disney has their own Tiki restaurant, but if you care to slip away into the city and get away from the theme park theme, downtown Orlando is a nice place to seek options.

This place does brand themselves as a “Retro Tiki Lounge. But this is part of a bigger complex on the block all by the same owner. So I am guessing they are streamlining the menus which are similar, but just giving guests a choice of scenery. They do a pretty good job with the decor and even the neon sign out front. Since we sat outdoors, it was hard to get into the “escapism” part of what tiki is all about, with waterfalls, tropical music, but then again, we are in South Florida, so the weather matched.

Their PuPu Platter which has chicken wings, spicy “krab” wontons, pork & chive spring rolls and crispy spare ribs. When I was there back in 2005 they had one of the things I loved were these little potato balls with meat filling in the middle. I am not sure what they were called or if they still have them.

The menu contains a lot of common chain and/or American foods like nachos, wings, burgers, and even tacos. But they do have several Asian-themed foods like potstickers, wontons and dumplings.

I was curious and ordered the Goombay Smash which is popular in the Bahamas. It has pineapple and various rums, but they also had Mojitos and the Dark & Stormy in their list of classic cocktails. This is Polynesian in the sense that it combines all the Caribbean cultures. In fact, they feature special happy hour discounts on Red Stripe (Jamaican beer) and a multitude of flavored mojitos and rum drinks.

This is part of a bigger complex on the block all by the same owner. So I am guessing they are streamlining the menus which are similar, but just giving guests a choice of scenery. They do a pretty good job with the decor and even the neon sign out front. Since we sat outdoors, it was hard to get into the “escapism” part of what tiki is all about, with waterfalls, tropical music, but then again, we are in South Florida, so the weather matched.

It is important to note that I was here in 2005, so I imagine somethings have changed, but if I were in Orlando again I would be sure to stop by and see what has changed.